I. Field of the Invention
This disclosure relates to battery unit mounting structures for vehicles including a battery unit, and more particularly, to a vehicle battery unit mounting structure for mounting a battery unit on a floor panel of a vehicle.
II. Background
Electric vehicles and hybrid vehicles (including plug-in hybrid vehicles), which are driven by a motor, have become widespread. In electric vehicles and hybrid vehicles, electricity is used as a power source for operating the motor, and therefore, a drive battery unit such as a lithium ion battery unit or the like is provided. The drive battery unit is typically provided in the passenger compartment.
Japanese Patent Laid-open Publication No. 2003-170748 describes a structure for mounting the drive battery unit on a floor panel below a front seat. Japanese Patent Laid-open Publication No. 2009-252688 describes a structure which allows efficient adjustment of the temperature of the drive battery unit provided in the passenger compartment without directly connecting an air conditioning duct to the casing of the drive battery unit.
When the drive battery unit is provided in the passenger compartment as in the techniques of Japanese Patent Laid-open Publication No. 2003-170748 and Japanese Patent Laid-open Publication No. 2009-252688, it is preferable that the outlet of the air conditioning duct be provided around the drive battery unit in order to efficiently adjust the temperature of the drive battery unit.
However, for recent automotive vehicles, attempts have been extensively made to reduce cost, weight, and space. Accordingly, it is desirable that the arrangement of the drive battery unit and the air conditioning duct should contribute to such reductions. When the drive battery unit is mounted on a floor panel of a vehicle, it is desirable that the floor panel, which is not at all thick, should be reinforced at the same time.
With the foregoing in mind, it is an object of the present invention to provide a battery unit mounting structure for a vehicle which allows a drive battery unit and an air conditioning duct to be mounted on a floor panel of the vehicle in a manner that reduces cost, weight, and space, and also allows the floor panel to be reinforced.